I am a retired US Border Patrol Agent. Let me say that after working for 25 years with a failed US immigration system, I am totally on your side.

From my experience I have serious doubts about the intentions and effectiveness of President Obama's recent policy change decision. For those of you who have immigration cases’ pending in immigration court, my understanding is that your cases will be “administratively closed”. That means your cases will be held inactive, or shelved. This action does not give you legal immigration status in the US. The fact is, without a change in the law, your cases could be reopened and you still could be deported.

There has been some talk of giving you work authorization. That may be more difficult than meets the eye. Will this type of change pass congress?

DHS has taken this backlog of some 300,000 immigration court cases and made it a political issue. President Obama promised immigration reform. He is parading this “new policy’ announcement in that light.

What they are actually doing is exercising prosecutorial discretion. In other words, they can pick and choose what cases they prioritize and take to court. This is not new. DHS has always had that power.

The problem is that your cases that they say they will administratively close can be reopened in the future. Please ask yourselves this question: “What will an anti-immigrant republican administration do with your inactive cases if President Obama loses the election in 2012?”

I say that you have another choice beside the one of letting them decide your future.

I can tell you from my experience what really troubles this or any administration. They don’t like negative publicity and they don’t want to be embarrassed.

I say now is the time to call their hand. Are they serious about reform or are they just shinning you on?

Now is the time for every eligible Dream Act person to ask for in immigration hearing. You saw how uncomfortable they were with a backlog of 300,000. What would they do if you all stood up for yourselves and boosted that number to one or two million?

Please be advised, I am an immigration activist; I am not an immigration lawyer. That is my disclaimer because I can’t give you immigration advice.

I can give you the insights that I know. I have worked in and watched immigration for over thirty five years. They promise many things, and deliver few. That is the game they play.

You have the opportunity now to take the risk as a group, and force them to decide. Otherwise, they will do what they always do; make lots of promises, excuses, and do very little or nothing.

Organize. Go to ICE by the tens of thousands and ask for immigration hearings. You have more power than you know.

How many of the pending 300,000 immigration case backlog will be administratively closed, or shelved, like the one in this article?

How many hundreds of thousands of low priority immigration cases (Dream Act, Mexican drug war Asylum, non-criminal workers etc.) are out there across our country who are not part of this 300,000? Perhaps 500,000, one million, or ten million?

What happens if all of those undocumented people line up at ICE offices across the country and ask for immigration hearings in order that their cases may in turn can be administratively closed?

Perhaps this will force our government to make real immigration reform decisions and not keep "kicking the can down the road"!

Congress: you can't have it both ways. Once and for all, you have to shut up and decide.